Maria Oost, February 2023
PART 1
In life you have these chapters you pass by. Chapters of themes that interest you. All of the sudden media, books, events, conversations, experiences excreta, make you start connecting these daily information sources to your theme of interest. You keep re-ajusting your thoughts on the theme. And that’s how your knowledge expands and you start integrating it in your daily life, for instance to better your habits. And so I stumbled up on a text I had to read for school. It made me connect the information to an ongoing theme in my life; consciousness and the search for satisfaction.
Let me explain. The text I read was; ‘From the secret of theatrical space’ from the book ‘Theatre and performance design’. The text was about Josef Svoboda, whom they call ‘the father of the modern scenography’. Josef Svoboda is a well-known national stage designer out in the 20th century. He included multimedia in his stage design, like projection. This took my interest right away, knowing I have a big love for the use of projections.
I started watching a documentary about Svoboda, suggested by one of my teachers. This is where I started to link Svoboda to my theme of consciousness. At some point in the documentary there was a picture of a scenery and Svoboda started to explain. He told about all the aspects that were taken care of. A visitor of the theatre play most likely wouldn’t be aware of all these aspects. I think viewers are mostly subconscious about the things they experience. This makes the experience kind of flat in a way. But when the creator of the work starts to explain the aspects of what there is to experience, a world of magic opens. You start seeing things you didn’t see beforehand, things you would’ve never experienced without this view of point.
Imagine all these people that were at the play, experiencing this moment in the scenery. But nobody actually knows what layers there are to experience, except for the flat surface.
I started watching a documentary about Svoboda, suggested by one of my teachers. This is where I started to link Svoboda to my theme of consciousness. At some point in the documentary there was a picture of a scenery and Svoboda started to explain. He told about all the aspects that were taken care of. A visitor of the theatre play most likely wouldn’t be aware of all these aspects. I think viewers are mostly subconscious about the things they experience. This makes the experience kind of flat in a way. But when the creator of the work starts to explain the aspects of what there is to experience, a world of magic opens. You start seeing things you didn’t see beforehand, things you would’ve never experienced without this view of point.
Imagine all these people that were at the play, experiencing this moment in the scenery. But nobody actually knows what layers there are to experience, except for the flat surface.
Just like we nowadays look at a painting and think ‘hm, okay’, ‘like it’ or ‘don’t like it’, ‘beautiful’ or ‘ ugly’. Our perception of the work is so flat. And I’m getting frustrated about it because I catch myself doing this.
I believe social media has a big role in developing this habit of judging by first sight, a flat judge ment. Not taking the time to dive deeper in to a painting, a scenery or a insta post for instance. Social media gives us so many simulus, sending dopamine to our brain. It gets toxic. Every time you open TikTok, Instagram or face book you are looking for things you like and in the first seconds you already know. You scroll, just to seek the happiness you're looking for, the dopamine. The experience stays flat.
I believe social media has a big role in developing this habit of judging by first sight, a flat judge ment. Not taking the time to dive deeper in to a painting, a scenery or a insta post for instance. Social media gives us so many simulus, sending dopamine to our brain. It gets toxic. Every time you open TikTok, Instagram or face book you are looking for things you like and in the first seconds you already know. You scroll, just to seek the happiness you're looking for, the dopamine. The experience stays flat.
PART 2
‘Societe du spectacle’ a book written by Guy Debord in 1967. About the consumption society, mass media and advertisement. This book was a leading component of the situationist movement 1957-72. An art and political movement. ‘Societe du spectacle’ complains about the consumption society, how we seek our satisfaction in consumption. I can relate this to things i see around me. How we seeks satisfaction in drugs, alcohol, social media, eating, expensive gadgets, events exetra.
But out of life experience I know this ain't the healthy way of achieving happiness and satisfaction. I still ignore this reality many times. But i have to come to the truth that satisfaction isn’t in the events or products we live up to. Satisfaction os in the love, the pain, the sun and the rain that we experience every day, in and out. It ain't about the easy way of achieving happiness and satisfaction.
PART 3
So why eating soup? I believe Happiness and satisfaction can be found in everyday life. In the simple things. We just have to open up our senses to perceive all the things that are right there in front of us. We have to open up our selfes. In my idea eating soup is such a general normal thing we all do in daily life, there is nothing special to it. But eating soup is something that aquiers all senses; touch (warmth), smell (herbs), see (bowl with soup), taste, hear (the sound it makes in your mouth). Its such a rich experience.
I want to make the participants believe that eating soup is the most outstanding and wonderful event. Something we beforehand didn’t think of as special, but now have experienced its full potential. Something so regular can make your life so wonderful. Things aren’t just things. Every thing is special and outstanding if you only pay attention to it and be open for it.
I want to make the participants believe that eating soup is the most outstanding and wonderful event. Something we beforehand didn’t think of as special, but now have experienced its full potential. Something so regular can make your life so wonderful. Things aren’t just things. Every thing is special and outstanding if you only pay attention to it and be open for it.
SOURCES;
Book; ‘Theatre and Performance Design’ 2010, by; J. Collins and A. Nisbet. ; page.390 – page.394
Documentary about Svoboda;
‘Theatre Svoboda’ 2011, by Jakub Hejna.
it’s not available anymore. I got this link from my teacher Michiel;
it’s not available anymore. I got this link from my teacher Michiel;
Book; ‘societe du spectacle’ 1967, by Guy Debord. http://library.nothingness.org/articles/SI/en/display/23